My father is the inspiration for this blog. Although his father abandoned him and his mother died when he was a child, raised by a step-family who loved him but treated him as an outsider, he had the most gentle, caring nature of any man I have ever encountered. His parenting skills were extraordinary, particularly given the way that he was parented. Although he died on my birthday in 1980 at 62, he continues to live in the qualities that he passed on to his children, all of whom aspire to encompass those qualities that set him apart. He was, quite simply, the best man I ever knew.
My family, on both my father's and mother's side, was replete with mysteries. My paternal grandfather, Andrea Resti, was wholly absent from my life. I only recall meeting him once, when I was about ten, at his home in Westbury where he lived with his second family. I really don't recall much about him, except that his English was not strong, even after 50 years in America. What I do recall is that my brother Gary, who was probably six, saw an accordion there, and asked my grandfather for it. My grandfather's response was to try to sell it to my father and when he declined to buy it, to pitch me to persuade my father to pay him for the instrument. I really don't remember how it was resolved but I do recall at the age of ten having no interest in seeing him again.
The only grandparent who was really in my life was my maternal grandmother, Kate, who we lived with for most of my childhood. Hence, she was a constant presence in my life, but she was not without her own mysteries. I always knew her as Catherine Kessler, but there was no trace of any man named Kessler in our lives. I was going through her papers after she died and came across my mother's Baptismal Certificate which showed that her father was named Michael Ferrone, a name I had never heard before. The secret of Michael Ferrone was kept by everyone in my grandmother's and mother's generations assiduously for over fifty years.
This blog will chart my research and discoveries about the many family secrets kept over the years and will hopefully enable me to understand and know my ancestors and myself. Although I am creating a public blog, this is primarily written to allow my family and friends to share in my discoveries and collaborate on this journey.
